Coasted scheduled to make 2017 debut in Herecomesthebride

Treadway Racing Stable’s Coasted is scheduled to make her 2017 debut in Saturday’s $100,000 Herecomesthebride (G3) at Gulfstream Park, her connections hoping to avoid the kind of heavy traffic that compromised her second-place performance in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) last time out.

“She’s been training very well. She breezed on the grass the other day. I was waiting to see how that went to see whether I might run or not. She went very, very well – came down the lane great and she galloped out well. She’s doing great,” said trainer Leah Gyarmati of the Feb. 26 five-furlong breeze over the Gulfstream turf in 1:01 2/5. “We’ll see how that translates into the race Saturday.”

The daughter of Tizway has been installed as the 8-5 morning-line favorite in a field of seven 3-year-old fillies entered for the 1 1/16-mile turf stakes. Irad Ortiz Jr. has been named to ride the Kentucky-bred filly for the first time.

Coasted broke last in a field of 14 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies turf at Santa Anita Nov. 4, when she gamely made her way through traffic before finishing with a rush to come up a half-length short of catching New Money Honey.

“She ran a tremendous race. She might have gotten a little too far back and that kind of complicated things, first of all because of the traffic and having to make up all that ground. She did get into a few tight spots in the stretch, but that being said, that just made it all the more impressive,” Gyarmati said. “She really, really ran her heart out. She had a similar trip at Saratoga when she won the P.G. Johnson. She’s done that a couple times when she shows how really gutsy she is.”

Coasted, who debuted with a fifth-place finish in a dirt sprint at Belmont July 2, won at first asking on turf while sent around two turns at Saratoga Aug. 7. She went on to overcome a troubled start to win the P. G. Johnson Memorial at Saratoga Sept. 1 before finishing an even third behind New Money Honey in the Miss Grillo (G3) over a yielding Belmont turf Oct. 2.

“I had thought she was a turf horse. The first time I entered her it was for a turf race. She had a little incident at the gate and she was scratched, but she was fine. The next race came up as a dirt race and we ran her just to give her a first race under her belt,” Gyarmati said.

“She’s always trained well on dirt. I wouldn’t be afraid to run her on the dirt long. That [debut] was a sprint race and I don’t think sprinting is her game. I think she would be OK on the dirt. If a race came off the turf, I wouldn’t be afraid to run her.”

India Mantuana, rated second in the morning line at 7-2, is slated to make her first start for her new connections following a private purchase. The daughter of Wilburn, who has won three of her last four starts on turf for trainer Antonio Sano, will be saddled for her graded-stakes debut in the Herecomesthebride by trainer Chad Brown.

Owned by Head of Plains Partners and Sterling Road Stables, India Mantuana, who began her career with a victory in four starts on dirt, won a starter allowance at Gulfstream Park West Nov. 17. The Kentucky-bred filly finished a close third behind Party Boat in the off-the-turf Wait a While Stakes at Gulfstream Dec. 10 before capturing another starter allowance, finishing a close second in the Ginger Brew Stakes Jan. 7 and winning a first-level optional claiming allowance Jan. 21.

“She's doing well. She's came into my barn in pretty good shape,” Brown said. “She trains like she has a lot of quality, but I don't know enough about her, but the way she is training, I would say she is going to run well – that's why we decided to put her right into a stakes like this. This graded stakes here is a good test for her.”

Jose Ortiz is scheduled to ride India Mantuana for the first time Saturday.

Happy Mesa and Party Boat are scheduled to represent trainer Graham Motion in the Herecomesthebride.

Owned by a partnership that includes West Point Thoroughbreds, Highclere America, and Zoom and Fish Stable, Happy Mesa won the first two races of her career at Laurel, including the Selima Stakes, before being transferred to Motion. The daughter of Sky Mesa subsequently finished second in the Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita Oct. 10 before finishing off the board in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and the Jimmy Durante (G3) at Del Mar to conclude her 2016 campaign.

“I don’t think she got the best set-up in the Breeders’ Cup,” Motion said. “I think we’re still learning about her. This race has been on our radar for a while.”

Hope H. Jones’ Party Boat has won two of three starts on turf after running on dirt in her first two career starts. The daughter of Into Mischief broke her maiden at Monmouth Sept. 10 and won a first-level allowance at Keeneland Oct. 26 before capturing the Wait a While Stakes, which was taken off the turf and run over a sloppy main track at Gulfstream Dec. 16. In her most recent start she encountered trouble before finishing sixth in the Ginger Brew.

“She’s a very useful filly in that she can handle both surfaces,” Motion said.